Wednesday, October 29, 2008

More Casino News: MGM Plans on Hold

There is more news coming out of atlantic City today about its potentional casinos. Now, MGM has decided to be its plans on hold because of sagging economy. Can't say I blame them because reports from a few people I know in the business have said the last couple of week have been horrendous.

Poker rooms have had few tables going and ones that are going, are short. Not fun times.

Gaming giant MGM Mirage Resorts Inc. said today it is halting plans for a $5 billion casino complex in Atlantic City until the sagging economy picks up.

The announcement comes as no surprise and reiterates what the company told The Press of Atlantic City in August. At that time, MGM said it would postpone the start of construction at least until 2009.

MGM did not state how long it would delay the project in today’s announcement, which was made as part of the company’s report on third quarter earnings.

“We continue to believe Atlantic City represents an important market for further development,” Terry Lanni, MGM’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We intend to resume development at such time as economic conditions and capital markets are sufficiently improved to enable us to go forward on a reasonable basis.”

MGM planned to build an estimated $4.5 billion to $5 billion megaresort in the Marina District next to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which it co-owns with Boyd Gaming Corp.